Preaching on life is particularly appropriate on this day for the double reason that this is precisely the feast of life, and that many people will be in the Church today who do not hear our message the rest of the year. The pro-life message can be incorporated into the Easter homily in a very positive and clear way, as the following points suggest:

1. Easter is about the Resurrection of Christ, which was a physical resurrection. The human body and soul are set free from the kingdom of death; the way is opened for us to share this risen life.

2. This puts every human being in a different light; we can never look at each other the same again. Every person, in Christ, has been raised to the heights of heaven. Both options for the second reading emphasize this point. Easter, then, is our feast. It is not only about Jesus’ victory over death; it’s about our victory over death.

3. We share that victory by baptism, and after the homily will renew our baptismal vows. By rejecting the “works” and “empty promises” of Satan, we are rejecting the power of death at work in our world today, manifested in such evils as abortion and euthanasia. By promising to live in Christ, we are promising to be pro-life.

4. The first reading indicates that the apostles were to preach to the people about the meaning of the resurrection. So must we. We are apostles of life, spreading hope amidst people who might be tempted to see death as a solution to their problems.

5. The Gospel tells us that the apostles “ran.” So must we. This Feast fills us with spiritual energy that makes us run to the Lord, and then run from the empty tomb to tell the world that Life, not death, is what God wants for us and from us! We are the People of Life! Let’s celebrate that with confidence and joy!

"The People of Life, Born from the Cross""When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, 'It isfinished'; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit"(In 19:30). Afterwards, the Roman soldier "pierced his sidewith a spear, and at once there came out blood and water"(In 19:34).Everything has now reached its complete fulfillment. The"giving up" of the spirit describes Jesus' death, a death likethat of every other human being, but it also seems to alludeto the "gift of the Spirit", by which Jesus ransoms us fromdeath and opens before us a new life. It is the very life ofGod which is now shared with man. It is the life whichthrough the Sacraments of the Church - symbolized by theblood and water flowing from Christ's side - is continuallygiven to God's children, making them the people of the NewCovenant. From the Cross, the source of life, the "people oflife" is born and increases" (The Gospel of Life, n.51).As the quote above indicates, the Church as the People ofLife is born from the Cross. Jesus' passion and death arehis self-giving, and the power of that self-giving is given tous, that we might give ourselves to one another in serving,protecting, and celebrating the gift of life.In particular, Jesus endured the rigors of the passion -described in today's liturgy in great detail - preciselybecause of how much he values human life. He did it for us.He did it because he wanted to raise human life to theheights of heaven.Through his Passion and resurrection, he does not onlyconquer his own death; he overturns the very kingdom ofdeath. We cannot listen to or believe the Gospel of thePassion without marveling at how much God loves eachhuman life, and without feeling impelled to respond whenthat same human life is trampled underfoot. He gave his life!or us; we are to give our lives for one another.Christ died once for all, but Calvary continues today asinnocent people are killed in abortion clinics nationwide.As John Paul II wrote, "It is precisely in the "flesh" of everyperson that Christ continues to reveal himself and to enterinto fellowship with us, so that rejection of human life, inwhatever form that rejection takes, is really a rejection ofChrist" (The Gospel of Life, n. 104). The Gospel of thePassion continues in our day ...Have a Blessed and Holy Week, Fr. Ken

The paschal mystery renews the world, and ushers in the new humanity, built on Christ and reconciled with God. That is the source of the Culture of Life.

The error of excluding entire segments of the human family, like the unborn, from personhood and protection, is an error that is old. It crops up throughout human history, and leads to genocide, holocausts, various forms of slavery, segregation and oppression.

But Christ makes all things new. As today’s Gospel passage reveals, he does not condemn us, but reveals to us the mercy that flows from his love for every human life.

Yet that mercy is not permission to return to our old life of sin, but rather power that raises us up beyond the life of sin to a new way of responding to the people around us.

Some will maintain that it is not really possible to overcome the culture of death or to stop the advance of abortion, euthanasia, and other forms of violence.

"But if we are to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed, and are to hear the message, “See, I am doing something new,” then we are called to believe that it really is possible – and we are called to use our gifts and energy to make it real."

The readings today present two equally important aspects of reconciliation, which have profound implications for the battle between the Culture of Death and the Culture of Life. The second reading says, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,” and then says, “We implore you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.” The preacher can raise the question for the congregation, “Who is doing the reconciling? If it is God who is doing it, then why are we implored to ‘be reconciled’?” The Israelites, as the first reading says, were freed from Egypt and given the Promised Land – yet they still had to fight for it once there, and they still had to struggle to observe the way of life of the covenant. The Prodigal Son, in today’s Gospel passage, was greeted by a father who was already working reconciliation for him, eagerly anticipating his return. Yet he, too, had to work out his salvation. He had to struggle. He had to make a deliberate decision to renounce his way of life, get up, and make the journey back to the father.

Reconciliation is never achieved passively. And both in the case of the Israelites and the Prodigal Son, a key motive to doing what needed to be done on their part to be reconciled to God was that they had reached a dead end. Life in slavery was not appealing, and life for the son, far away from the father, had likewise lost its appeal. A dead end has tremendous persuasive power. We have reached a dead end in this nation with the practice of abortion. Though abortion advocates promised in the late 1960’s that legalizing abortion would reduce child abuse and a host of other social ills, just the opposite has happened, and those ills have become worse. The men and women of the “Silent No More Awareness Campaign” (SilentNoMore.com) witness to the nation that their involvement in abortion solved nothing, but rather brought many problems of its own. That is why, as they recall their abortions, they demand that the government recall this dangerous product from circulation (see RecallAbortion.com). It is time for the nation to be reconciled with God. The hard work of reconciliation on our part includes the work of being reconciled with all our brothers and sisters. We cannot be reconciled to God unless we move toward our brothers and sisters to be reconciled with them – and this includes our unborn brothers and sisters. It includes everyone. Being reconciled with the unborn means recognizing them as persons like ourselves, speaking up for their rights, and working for their protection